Crackdown by Northern Rail after threats to kill, spitting and assaults on crew

Appalling attacks on train crew, including homophobic threats to kill, being spat on, and being assaulted are being cracked down on by Northern Rail and British Transport Police.

The train operator has highlighted a number of incidents conductors have faced while they work to ensure everyone reaches their destination safely and that they all have a valid ticket for travel.

While the majority of people who travel with Northern are polite and respectful, a very small minority has resorted to shouting, spitting and attacking members of staff.

Northern has said it will not tolerate verbal and physical abuse towards staff and will take action against anyone who threatens their employees’ safety.

In December, Northern revealed the number of dangerous attacks on its trains had fallen by almost 90% over the previous 12 months, with the number of recorded incidents dropping from 69 to just eight.

The train operator says the chance of perpetrators being caught on camera is now much higher after it added a further 600 new CCTV cameras to the more than 1,000 that monitor its station estate.

It came after the operator installed 7,000 HD CCTV cameras on board its fleet of trains and invested £1.7m in the roll-out of more than 1,000 extra body-worn camera kits, taking the total number now in operation to 1,300.

British Transport Police has access to all the footage and can use it in criminal prosecutions.

Dozens of undercover and plain-clothed police officers and Northern's travel safety officers also regularly patrol services across the north of England.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “We welcome millions of customers on-board our trains every year and the overwhelming majority are polite, considerate and respectful of others.

"Unfortunately, given the numbers involved, our conductors do also encounter people who are somewhat less respectful of them and the safety critical role they have on-board – and that is unacceptable.”

Anthony Mooney, 36, has worked for Northern for two years. He said: “I had an incident recently where I got a tirade of homophobic abuse from someone and they threatened to kill me.

“All because I asked him for a ticket.”

“You’ve got to have a thick skin in this job because you can get called every name under the sun. It can escalate from nothing when you least expect it.”

“It’s very difficult not to take it home. It plays on your mind and it’s hard to continue with your day. No one should have to deal with that, no matter what you have to do.

“If I took everything personally, I wouldn't be able to continue working as a conductor.”

Lewis Tracey is a 28-year-old conductor who has worked for Northern for eight years. He said: “I had a lad spit in my face and tried to punch me a few years ago. It was completely out of the blue, but that’s the sort of thing you have to put up with.”

“With some people you can reason with them, but with others there is no reasoning whatsoever, no matter what you do. It does get stressful, there’s no denying it.

“They see the uniform and want someone to vent at, but sometimes the abuse does get really personal and they don’t realise how much it can affect that person."

He added: “The body-worn cameras and CCTV do make a difference, because people think twice before they abuse someone or hit someone because they know they’re on camera."

• People who witness physical or verbal attacks are encouraged to report them to British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40.
• British Transport Police’s ‘Railway Guardian’ app is available to download from Google Play and the Apple App Store.